The Bet
by idccio
Summary: Cormac McLaggen and Draco Malfoy make a bet, should Gryffindor lose to Slytherin, Draco Malfoy will have 3 hours to command Hermione Granger. Chaos ensues when the Gryffindors find out. Harry realises that Draco's intentions might be less than innocent towards the witch he cares about. Harmony/HHr with lots of angry Gryffindors & a little bit of angry and jealous Draco on the side.
1. Chapter 1

**I obviously dont own anything, its all queen jk rowlings..**

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The Tuesday seemed to be an ordinary one, a pretty good one, if anything. They hadn't gotten any homework for Charms, and Snape had for once ignored Neville and Harry instead of humiliating them during Potions.

So when Harry, Hermione and Ron arrived at the Gryffindor Common Room after their lessons, they hadn't been expecting the chaos they found there.

Cormac McLaggen was cowering on one side of a mahogany table, almost hiding behind it, while several Gryffindors were shouting at him from the other side. Ginny seemed to be in the center of it, screaming at him in a voice that rivalled one of Mrs. Weasleys Howlers. Dean was keeping Ginny pinned to his chest, preventing her from jumping across the table to Cormac, while still managing to sneer at him.

However she was not the only person screaming gory death threats at him. Parvati was holding back Seamus, who was shouting at Cormac what exactly he'd like to do with his intestines. Katie Bell was simply watching, her hands clapped over the ears of a first year.

"Bloody hell." Ron whispered, in shock. He had never seen his fellow Gryffindors like this.

The Trio rushed to the table, intent on finding out what had happened.

"What's going on?" Hermione exclaimed, asking no one in particular.

It took 5 seconds for everyone to realise who had asked, and in 5 more seconds the entire Common Room was silent. Everone stopped screaming, Ginny stopped struggling and Dean released her. Everyone stared at Hermione, most with a definite portion of pity, Cormac flushed and looked at his feet.

"What?" she asked again, self consciously patting her hair down. No one answered, and it was starting to freak her out.

"You should probably sit down for this, Hermione." Dean spoke finally, when no one else said anything.

"Why? What happened? Can someone tell me why you're all staring at me like my cat just died?"

"I reckon Cormac should tell her. He created this damn mess."Seamus snarled with a glance at Cormac. Everyone murmured in approval, avoiding Hermione's eyes now.

Cormac looked horrified, cleared his throat and nodded.

"Well, I just, um, had a little disagreement with Draco Malfoy about who'll win the match next saturday and, ahem, we made a bet." he explained, his voice becoming increasingly quiet.

"That's it?" Harry chuckled. Hermione shrugged and bent to pick up her bag, intending to go up to her dormitory.

"Wow, you guys were fighting about that?" Ron laughed, relieved.

"It wasn't just any bet, it was an Unignorable Bet, Ron!" Ginny explained, flushing in anger again.

Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance and a shrug, neither of them knowing what this meant.

"And it included Hermione." Dean added. At this, Hermione dropped her bag again.

"Promise not to freak out and we'll tell you everything, Hermione." Ginny pleaded, glancing at Hermione's right hand, which was clutching her wand in a deathly grip.

"I won't freak out." she said, though her grip did not relax, and neither did her expression.

"Okay, well, an Unignorable Bet is kinda like a parody of the Unbreakable Vow, you see. It's not _that_ serious, but if you ignore the punishment you agreed on with the person you'll pay for it."

"Pay for it?" she questioned.

"Not with money. The punishment is never the same, sometimes its a few weeks of really bad acne, sometimes its a headache." Ginny explained.

"My aunt had a friend who got a third eye because she ignored her punishment. She couldn't get it off." Demelza added.

"You're not helping, girl." Lavender added quietly.

"So what did you bet for?" Hermione asked calmly.

"Well, if Gryffindor wins Malfoy will have to wear a Gryffindor shirt for a day." Cormac explained.

"And if Slytherin wins you'll wear a Slytherin one, or what?" Ron asked.

"No.. he'll be able to commandgrangerforthreehours." he mumbled.

" _What?"_ Hermione asked through her teeth.

"He'll command you for three hours." Cormac explained, flushing in shame.

"But- but- It's Cormac's bet, right? It doesn't bind Hermione, so it's not her who'll get punished if she ignores it. Right?" Harry chuckled rather nervously.

"That's what I thought, but apparently it bound her as soon as Cormac agreed." Dean explained. As soon as what he said sunk in, Ron and Harry started shouting, triggering the other students again.

In the chaos that ensued, nobody noticed Hermiones eyes rolling into the back of her head, her body flopping onto the floor like her limbs turned into jelly. They only realised when her head banged on the floor.

"Hermione!" Several people exclaimed, finally forgetting about Cormac.

"She fainted, someone bring her to the Infirmary, or at least onto the sofa or something." Katie suggested.

"Oi! You stay right there!" Ron had realised that Cormac was trying to sneak away.

"You take care of Hermione, I'll deal with this dickhead." Ron told Harry, before rushing after Cormac.

Harry secured one of his arms under her knees and the other on her back before picking her up.

Harry was furious as he carried Hermione over to the sofa. Her head wobbled on her neck, occacionally hitting his shoulder, but he could hardly focus on her.

His head was full of the things he'd like to do to Malfoy and Cormac. Everyone knew what an idiot Cormac was, it was Malfoy he was worried about. Draco Malfoy hated the Trio with a passion. In addition to the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin, he also hated Harry, Ron and Hermione in particular. Always looking for a way to annoy and humiliate the trio. Harry didn't even want to imagine what Malfoy would have Hermione do in those three hours, should they lose the match.

He started pacing around the Common Room. Some of the students left the Common Room, others scattered around and sat down to wait.

Harry had barely calmed down when Hermione began to stirr. She blinked up at him through fluttering eyelashes and rubbed her head.

"Harry?" she breathed. Harry stopped walking and sat down next to her instead.

"Hey. You fainted." he explained, reaching up to stroke her cheek. Everything that had happened in the past hour came back to her.

"I'm going to _murder_ Cormac McLaggen." she said, while she attempted to sit up, although her head was spinning.

"Maybe you should wait a bit." he said, pushing at her shoulders to stop her. She stopped struggling suddenly, her hands gripping his arms.

"Harry, what am I going to do? What if Gryffindor doesn't win? _He'll make me do horrible stuff!_ " her lip quivered.

"Hey, it'll be fine! When have I ever lost the snitch to Malfoy?" he asked her, holding her face in his hands. She sniffed.

"Remember the Quidditch World Cup?" she reminded him. He sighed. It was true. Krum had caught the snitch, but Ireland had won the match.

"Yes, well, this is not a professional match. And we'll be training extra hard, alright? Don't worry." he promised her, and pulled her to his chest.

She left the Common Room soon after, and went straight up to her dormitory. Lavender and Parvati stopped talking when they saw her.

"You OK?" Parvati asked her eventually. She had refrained from crying in Harry's company. She had done that thing when you look up at the ceiling so your tears dont fall, because once they do there's no going back. But she couldn't hold it back anymore. So when Parvati asked her, she instantly started sobbing. Parvati and Lavender jumped up and pulled her onto her bed. Although they never really had a great relationship, merely a peaceful cohabitation, they helped calming her down.

The next day, she sat through breakfast with rec, puffy eyes but determined indifference to the bet. Harry and Ron and, in fact, all the other Gryffindors kept chancing cautions glances at her, but she ignored them, and started reading Charms book, which was propped up against a jug on the table.

She went about her business and acted like it was just a usual day, pretending that the previous day had never happened. Everything was normal, except maybe the fact that Ron and Harry didnt leave her alone for more than 10 minutes.

They were relaxing on the courtyard during lunch when the Slytherins came by.

"I wouldn't make any plans for sunday, Granger." he smirked at her. Harry and Ron stepped up instantly, Hermione clutching both of their arms to hold them back.

"Ignore him, Harry. Ron! Just ignore him."

"You won't tell your boyfriends to ignore me once I'm done with you, Granger." he chuckled, Crabbe and Goyle guffawing loudly behind him, although Pansy Parkinson was starting to look quite sour.

"You're pushing it, Malfoy." Ron warned him.

"Alright, alright. I was just thinking, what should I make her do, though. I mean, the possibilities are endless, you know. I could have her do my homework..I could have her on her knees polishing my shoes.. I could have her do something else while she's down there." he said, and smirked nastily.

Harry and Ron ripped themselves free and threw themselves on Malfoy. Harry toppled him to the ground, punching furiously, too outraged to even think of getting his wand. Ron threw himself at Blaise Zabini, who was the closest to Malfoy.

It took little time for the students to gather around the fight, and as soon as they heard who was fighting, Dean, Seamus and Neville joined in. It turned into a full on brawl of the sixth year Slytherins against the sixth year Gryffindors.

"God, I can't wait, Potter. I've been trying to get Granger alone for _years."_ His nose started bleeding. "And now McLaggen's served her on the silver platter."

It was a good thing that in that moment McGonagall and Snape came to separate the boys, because Neville was being used as a punching bag by Crabbe. Goyle had Seamus in a headlock while Dean and Theodore Nott seemed to be rolling around rather than really doing any damage.

McGonagall swung her wand once and all the boys were flung apart, Ron and Blaise Zabini even rolled a few times before coming to a stop.

"What in the world is going on? I haven't seen a brawl like this since 1976!" she exclaimed, clearly in shock.

"Malfoy! Is there an explanation to this?" It was lucky for the Gryffindors that McGonagall was present, as it would not allow Snape to blame them without asking.

"Potter and his followers attacked, Professor." his voice sounded nasal, as he was nursing his broken nose.

"We call them friends in Gryffindor, Malfoy." Harry snarled, wiping blood out of his eye.

"Mr. Potter I am deeply dissapointed by your behaviour." McGonagall hissed at him.

"You wouldn't be if you heard what he said about Hermione, Professor McGonagall." Ron jumped in. Professor McGonagall turned towards Hermione, raising her eyebrows, as though asking her whether she approved of this. Hermione avoided her eyes.

"Very well. I believe three detentions for each of them is fair?" she asked Snape, who nodded in approval. They turned on their spots and went into opposite directions.

Madam Pomfrey had gotten instructions to not heal any of them, which explained the five boys sprawled out in the Gryffindor Common Room, moaning and groaning about their injuries.

"Stop moaning, Ron, you're the least injured here." Hermione said, though her statement was not biting. She appreciated what they had done, even if she'd never say she approved.

"I'm hurt because I was defending your honor and this is how you thank me?" he joked, Hermione scoffed.

"Does it hurt a lot?" Lavender had moved over to Ron. They confinued mumbling quitely, Harry watched for a few seconds, and was sure that Ron was exaggerating just a little.

Dean and Ginny were sitting in an armchair together, Ginny appeared to be fussing over his bruises.

"Thank you by the way. You should've just ignored him, though." Hermione murmured, sitting down next to Harry.

"Not after that." Harry said, avoiding her eyes. Hermione had just come up from the kitchens, bringing ice for each of the boys. She leaned over Harry and pressed the ice on the wound above his eye. Harry hissed at the cold.

"I wish I had learned some healing spells." she sighed. Harry realised exactly how close she was to him. The smell of her shampoo had him sniffing the air. It smelled of almonds. Whenever she moved her hand which was holding the ice another smell wafted over him, a smell that was distinctively hers. It was familiar by now, but the proximity resulted in a stronger concentration of it. It was making his head spin.

He reached up instinctively and tucked a springy curl behind her ear. It sprung free again making them laugh. It tickled her nose, she was scrunching her face up. She was close enough to count the little freckles across her nose. If he leant in just a little more..

"Oi! Where's my ice?"

 _Thanks, Ron._

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 **So, this is an idea I had while I was searching for DHr/HHr fics. It might be a 2 or 3 part story, depends on how much I write.**

 **Please leave me a review, any improvements? Any requested scenes? I might write a separate fic if anyone requests a scene that inspires me :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**ohh boy this sure took long.. when people started to follow this story i was like TOO MUCH PRESSURE hahaha. anyway, in hopes not to dissapoint anyone, here is the second part. please leave a review!**

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Getting ready for bed that same night, Harry and Ron stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom. Harry was brushing his teeth while Ron was checking out his bruises and cuts.

"Lavender said I look 'Bad-Ass'" he grinned at Harry. But Harry's mind was far from their bruised appearances. He finally asked Ron the question that had been burning on his tongue.

"Don't you think that Malfoy hates me more than Hermione?" he asked in a monotone voice while he got in his bed. Ron hesitated for a moment before he answered.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Isn't it weird, that.. I mean.. Wouldn't you think he'd like to humiliate me more than her, then?"

"I don't know.. Maybe he thought you wouldn't go through with it?" Ron tried to reason with him.

"Yeah. Maybe." he said after a moment, but Ron had already turned away from him.

The next morning Harry was already in the Common Room when Hermione slowly walked down the stairs from her dormitory. He seemed intent on being positive, a bright smile plastered onto his face when he said, "Good Morning! Wanna go to breakfast? Ron said not to wait for him, he just woke up."

Hermione nodded and started walking when, encouraged by the previous night, he grabbed hold of her hand and led her through the Portrait. He held her hand all through the castle to the Great Hall, and occasionally swung it, while making small talk.

Hermione did believe he was acting a little odd, but amusing, and so let him. Harry only let go of her hand once they had reached the Gryffindor table, guiding her over the bench with a hand on the small of her back.

For anyone who cared enough, it was noticable that Harry was very close to Hermione throughout the entire day. Most of them assumed that Harry was intent on making sure that no Slytherins would find her alone and in a position to be intimidated, which was only party true. He also quite enjoyed having an excuse to hold her hand while he led her away from Malfoy and his friends, to pull her tightly to his side and squeeze her waist in reassurance.

A particular blond Slytherin seemed to be particularly annoyed by this. Draco Malfoy had begun discussing the best things to force her to do whenever any Gryffindors were near and enjoyed leering at Hermione whenever he saw her. It certainly had it's effect, as it visibly made Hermione very uncomfortable. She'd never admit to anyone that she needed someone by her side, but Harry's presence and protective stance were indeed quite appreciated. The possibilty of Gryffindor losing the bet was making her more and more anxious, and Harry calmed her.

Pansy Parkinson appeared to be extremely irritated. Her comments were getting nastier, but Hermione wasn't exactly one to be intimidated by comments about her exterior. The days of shutting herself into the bathroom and crying her eyes out because someone insulted her hair were left in her third year. It didn't bother her nearly as much as Malfoy's indecent comments.

As intent as Hermione was on not showing any sign of intimidation or anxiety, the loss of appetite and the bags under her eyes made it pretty obvious to Harry how affected she was by the bet. He was angry.

It was only a small comfort for Harry when he realised that when he wasnt the only one looking out for Hermione, trying to keep the worst of the bullying away from her. Dean, for example, had made sure to sit beside her in Arithmancy, which was one of the classes she didn't have with Harry and Ron. Seamus had accompanied her to the Ancient Runes classroom, even though he didn't share the subject.

However, keeping her away from the Slytherins wasn't the only strategy they had.

"Harry, listen, we just followed Pansy Parkinson and her friends to the toilet, right, and-" Ginny hissed at Harry when she found him in the common room after lunch.

"What? Why would you follow her to the-"

" _Because_ Robin from Ravenclaw found this new jinx that makes you leg hair grow like five times faster and we wanted to try it out, _anyways_ that's not the point, but we overheard something.", she paused, fidgeting.

"Well? Out with it, Ginny!"

"Did you notice how she's been acting weird towards Malfoy? Like, she'll watch him bully Hermione, but occasionally she'll just sneer at his comments instead of giggling like she normally does."

Harry was blinking at her stupidly, he had not noticed any weird behaviour at all and was in awe of how Ginny had focused on this minor detail.

"We were just about to go into the bathroom when we noticed she was crying! So we eavesdropped-"

"Naturally." Harry interrupted.

"-and she was crying about Malfoy. And.." Ginny hesitated for a moment.

"Well, she was basically crying about how Malfoy was obsessed with Hermione and how he's been watching her all the time now and that he's been talking about nothing but the bet. She seemed really upset and I don't think she'd cry about it if she wasn't genuinely jealous, right?" she finished, with a concerned look on her face.

Harry's head was spinning. So that was why Malfoy had included Hermione in the bet and not him. Could it really be that there was more behind it than just the humiliation? Harry couldn't grasp the concept of Malfoy harbouring any kind of feeling towards Hermione beside hatred.

The creature inside his chest that Harry had gotten familiar to by now had returned to its place right between his ribcages a few months previously. It had done little except for the occasional purr whenever Hermione got especially close to him. The idea of Malfoy being after Hermione, however, made it roar inside his chest.

After a minute of silence he saw that Ginny expected a reaction.

"That's...disturbing." he said. She nodded.

"I'm quite worried actually. If Malfoy really has... feelings... for Hermione, who knows what he'll do if he wins the bet. I'm just saying, maybe Malfoy wasn't only trying to piss you guys off the other day?" Ginny explained with a grimace, looking at Harry as though she was expecting him to tell her she was wrong. Before he could say anything however, a great uproar on the couch in front of the fire distracted him.

Looking over, he saw Ron, his face concealed behind a green jersey.

"Is that a Slytherin shirt?" Ginny asked, sitting down next to Hermione.

"Oh, it's not just any Slytherin shirt. It's Malfoys Quidditch jersey! That git must've smuggled it in her bag." Ron growled, turning the shirt so that they could see Malfoys name above a number seven printed in silver letters on green.

"There was a note as well." grimaced Hermione, passing a piece of parchment to Ginny.

 _Something to wear for the match._

"He is absolutely disgusting. As if Mione would ever wear his shirt." Ginny scoffed, showing the note to Harry.

"That's the thing though, she'll have to if we lose." Fay said. Harry was suddenly overcome by a picture of Hermione wearing Malfoys shirt, making it hard for him to swallow.

"Can you guys stop talking like I'm not here?" said Hermione in a small voice. Her arms were crossed, her back straight and a strong look on her face, but she hadn't been able to stop the quivering of her lip.

Ginny and Harry shared a look, silently agreeing not to tell Hermione anything about what Ginny had overheard in the bathroom and to what conclusion they had come.

It wasn't long before Dean and Seamus arrived in the common room. In an effort to cheer everyone up, Dean threw on Malfoys jersey and drew a lightning bolt on Seamus' forehead before reenacting hilarious scenes between Harry and Malfoy. At the end of the evening each of them went to their dormitory, their stomach aching from laughter and smiles still on their lips.

On friday the usual animosity before a match started. Slytherins hissing at Gryffindors, Gryffindors tripping Slytherins, and everyone in each house insulting everyone in the other. The usual methods of intimidation seemed to not work on Ron Weasley. He refused to show any weakness but made sure to show confidence in the outcome of the match.

Hermione Granger had disappeared shortly after her last lesson, and though everyone knew where she was, only two boys made their way into the library. Harry Potter was walking confidently along the rows of bookshelves, he knew the exact table where he'd find her, the secluded corner just before the Restricted Section.

Contrary to popular expectation, however, the second boy was not Ron, but Draco Malfoy.

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TBC.

PS. the timeline was completely fucked up so i changed a bit, so they find out about the bet on tuesday, the fight is on wednesday, on thursday ginny explains what she overheard and the next chapter will start where this one left off, on friday evening. :) thanks for pointing it out xx


	3. Chapter 3

**So. This is it! I hope you guys liked it. I decided to show a bit of Draco's side. And maybeee that end is the start of something new. (you sang that, admit it) I quite like the quidditch scene. Please leave me some reviews!**

 **P.S: I'm working on a soulmates/identifying marks story now (HHr) so if you're interested, stay tuned!**

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It started out as a small fascination.

She was supposed to be dirty, but her skin was dewy and a pretty shade of tawny brown, dusted with tiny freckles. Her eyes were a rich dark brown, though her kind and calming gaze hardened whenever it met his.

And how could she have stolen her magic, if her hair seemed to bounce with it?

How could she not belong, if she was always the first to master a new spell?

He knew he could never have her, so he jumped on the first chance he had to be with her, even if she didn't want to. The bet would make sure she would.

It wasn't anything new, really, for him to follow her into the library, and steal looks at her from behind a bookshelf on the evening before the match. He watched her for a while before approaching her. He didn't know what he was planning to say, but called her name anyway.

"Granger."

Hermione's head snapped up at his voice, her brows already furrowed into a scowl.

"Leave me alone, Malfoy." she hissed at him. He took the last few steps before coming to a stop right next to her table. Hermione stood, feeling slightly more vulnerable with his height over her.

"Are you excited?" he asked her. He was so close to her now he could smell her shampoo. He breathed in deeply, not even realising that he'd leant in.

"Shut up. Leave, Malfoy." she hissed, backing up one step. He followed, his hand reaching up to tug on one curl.

Before he could say anything else, a hand gripped his shoulder painfully and he was wrenched away, the curl slipping through his fingers. Turning around, he sneered at Harry.

"Dont touch her." Harry snarled at him, moving to Hermione's side protectively. Draco sneered at them, speechlessly watching with barely concealed jealousy as Harry gathered her books and took her hand into his before pulling her through the bookshelves towards the exit. He kept up his fast stride, making it hard for Hermione to keep up. Only when they reached the hallway did he slow down and eventually come to a stop.

Pulling her closer by the hand that was still grasped in his, he slid his hands up her arms and rubbed her shoulders before one of his hands slid up to the nape of her neck while the other slid across her back. Hermione sighed and leaned her forehead to his collarbone.

"I shouldn't have let you go alone. I'm sorry." he mumbled into her hair.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Harry. It's Cormac who should be apologizing for this." she told him.

He looked at her for a moment before sighing.

"You okay? He didn't do anything, did he?" Harry asked. She smiled and shook her head before standing up on the tip of her toes and placing a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth. His breath flew out of him. She was looking at him through heavy lids, smiling shyly at him.

He barely needed to move, only lean his head forward before he caught her lips again. They were soft and full under his, moving slowly before opening. The smallest taste of her drove him insane. He moaned quietly and dove deeper into her wet warmth when suddenly it was ripped from him. His eyes flew open, brows furrowed, an apology already on his lips but it died down as soon as he saw her. Warm brown eyes fluttered open and Hermione blinked up at him.

"My feet started to hurt." she said sheepishly. He was confused for a moment but realised soon that she had been standing on the tip of her toes to reach him, which must have been why he didn't have to lean down much, he thought. He grinned then, and she giggled. It was such a pure, innocent moment that he felt giddy, grasping her hand again, he started walking to the Gryffindor tower.

In the common room, they didn't answer any questioning stares, Hermione merely shaking her head at the girls telling them "Later."

They sat down next to eachother, their intertwined hands resting on his thigh, which was pressed to hers from hip to knee. Silently they smiled into the fire and sat until everyone else had retired into the dormitories. Once they were alone again, Harry turned on his seat so he was facing Hermione, and hesitantly put his hand on her waist, encouraging her to do the same. The kiss had been a nice distraction but now her thoughts had returned to the match, and the bet.

Her eyes had dimmed, her mouth turned down unhappily again.

"Don't worry, Hermione. It's going to be fine." he said quietly. She nodded but didn't speak.

"I'm just so confused and irritated and... scared." she whispered finally. It felt good to get it off her chest. Her anxiety had been building over the day and she felt like she was going to have a panic attack any moment.

"Malfoy has been saying disgusting stuff, really nasty. I don't know what he's planing to do if Slytherin wins but I'm pretty sure it's nothing pleasant."

"I know, I promise we will all do our best tomorrow. I'll throw Malfoy off his broom if I have to, alright?" he said. Trying to think of something to lift her spirits, he got an idea.

"Wait here." he said before standing up and hurrying up the stairs to his dormitory. There he rummaged around his trunk quietly, as everyone was sleeping. He found what he was looking for, and went back to the common room, where Hermione was waiting exactly as he had left her.

"Wear this okay? It'll be like I'm with you, right? Plus, it'll piss Malfoy off as his shirt is currently hidden who knows where." he chuckled, giving her the Gryffindor Quidditch sweater he wore for practice. It seemed to do the job, Hermione started smiling brightly.

"You should go to sleep." she said.

"Yeah." he said but didn't make a move to get up.

"Maybe you should give me a goodnight kiss, so I fall asleep quicker." he suggested with a lopsided smile. Hermione raised one eyebrow, but leaned forward. Harry moved forward to get closer to her. He closed his eyes when she was inches away. Her lips touched his for a few seconds, but before he could move them against hers, they disappeared again. His eyes opened and he let off a disappointed grunt. She had a smug look on her face and was already getting to her feet.

"Night, Harry." she said in an innocent voice.

"Night, Hermione." he sighed and made his way to bed.

When Harry woke up in the morning, after what felt like five minutes of rest, there was an almost electric tension in the air. It went nicely with the nervousness, thought Harry bitterly, as he dressed and went down to the common room. Everyone seemed to be buzzing with excitement, though for most of the people in his year it mixed with dread. The entire Quidditch team was waiting for him anxiously.

"How are you feeling, Harry?"

"Well rested?"

"All good?"

"Ready to beat Slytherin?"

He nodded at them, gave them two thumbs up and went over to Ron.

"Is Hermione at breakfast already?" he asked. Ron stopped chewing on his nail long enough to shrug at Harry.

"Still upstairs. I think she threw up this morning." Lavender whispered loudly to him and gave him a meaningful look. Then she took Ron's hand and pulled him to the portrait to follow the team to the Great Hall.

"Yeah, you guys go ahead, I'll wait for Hermione." he muttered to himself sarcastically.

He barely managed to wait for 30 seconds before finally started contemplating on how to get up to her dormitory without falling on his face.

He didn't have to think for long though because Hermione was already walking down the stairs.

"Morning, Harry." she said and smiled sweetly at him. It took him a while to answer. She was wearing his maroon Quidditch jumper, the Gryffindor coat of arms on the right side of her chest. He couldn't see it but he knew his name was printed in gold lettering on her back. It made his palms tingle.

"Good Morning. How are you?"

"I'm fine, let's get to breakfast, you need to eat." she said and started walking. Now he could see the it: _Potter_

He followed her distractedly.

They were quite late, the halls were empty and everyone was at breakfast already. Harry took her hand into his and rubbed comforting circles across its back with his thumb. He huffed in annoyance when he realised they were about to make a great entrance. They only hesitated for a second before walking into the Great Hall. All conversations halted for a moment before the noise coming from the tables grew until it became overwhelming.

Gryffindors cheering, Slytherins hissing and sneering, some Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws turning to their friends to discuss the jumper Hermione was wearing, most of them also cheering. Luna's lion hat roared above everyone else. Dean was standing on a chair, swinging a great banner.

 _Potter! Potter! Potter! Potter!_

Harry scratched the back of his neck in embarrasment before waving to those who were chanting his name. The morning of a game was always energetic, but he had never seen the entire school so hyper. Undoubtedly because of the bet. They sat down with the team and immediately began talking about the conditions. It was a clear day, with only a few clouds scattered around the sky, perfect weather for a game. Harry shoveled down some food and got into his captain mode. Soon they were in the dressing room, all ready, waiting for Harry's speech.

"There's nothing to say, really. You all know that this is an important game, not only because of the Quidditch cup, but also because of the bet. Our chances are very good, we've been training everyday this past week. Just do your best. Let's go." It was a short speech. Especially by the standards of Oliver Wood. Each team member clapped his shoulder as they went past him to the line up. He joined them and led his team onto the pitch.

Taking determined steps he met Malfoy in the middle, caught his hand in a deathly grip, shook once before releasing it. Simultaneously they mounted their brooms and with the whistle the game began.

He had been in the air for no longer than ten seconds and already was dodging bludgers. He realised at once that their main strategy was to injure Harry, aiming to get him off the pitch somehow. He started to circle the pitch and zig zagged through the air to avoid bludgers and players. Malfoy was hot on his heels, following him. He scanned his surroundings for the golden snitch and attempted to keep up with the scores.

Their goal was to win the game as fast as possible. As their previous games had been very successfull Gryffindor didn't need a too large point difference. The faster he caught the snitch, the faster Hermione would be free of the bet and maybe, he hoped, she'd kiss him in thanks.

 _"Ginny Weasley has the quaffle and- yes! 10-20 for Gryffindor!"_

Harry stopped listening to the commentary, Crabbe and Goyle were flying on either side of him. The bludgers were both in Gryffindor possesion but the two Slytherins were flying so close to Harry that he was in the danger of not being able to control his broom. Harry flew up and down, attempted to throw them off by changing directions but there was little he could do. As a last resort, he pulled the handle of his Firebolt back and braked. It worked, Crabbe and Goyle had both lost him.

He flew by the Gryffindor stands and saw Hermione standing between Neville and Dean.

He lost her again when Malfoy came up beside him.

 _"Slytherin scores, 30-20."_

Malfoy smirked gloatingly at him.

"An hour from now I'll be with Granger. Bet you just can't think straight from worry, Potter." he shouted at him over the chants in the stands.

"And yet, it's my shirt she's wearing, Malfoy. You'll never have her the way I do. The only way you get to spend any time with her is by forcing her. You're pathetic." he answered without stopping his scanning of the field. Malfoy sputtered beside him.

And there it was. A tiny ball of glittering gold, hovering about three meters above the ground just by the Gryffindor goal post. There was no time to waste. He hoped that Malfoy was still searching for an answer and dived.

Malfoy dived only a second after him and was gaining on him. Harry flew towards the snitch but in his head he was already calculating. If he kept up his dive he would fly past the snitch and right onto the ground. He pulled on the handle of his Firebolt and decelerated his dive. Now he was too far up. In a split second decision, he wound his legs tightly to his broomstick, gripping it between his knees and rolled himself down so he was flying with his body hanging from the broomstick.

The people in the stands gasped in unision.

Harry let go of his Firebolt with one hand, reached out and finally, _finally_ , grasped the snitch firmly in his fist.

The stands erupted in cheers.

 _"Potter! Potter! Potter!"_

Harry didn't mind the chants half as much now. He righted himself on his broom and looked at the snitch in his fist. He brought it to his lips and kissed it before throwing his arm in the air, showing it to the students.

Flying to the ground he jumped off and was immediately assaulted with a small body flying on his. He recognized the curly hair obscuring his eyes and picked her body off the ground. For a while they just stood there swaying from side to side, Harry's arms wound tightly around her waist, hers around his neck, Hermiones feet hovering a few inches above the ground. She pulled away eventually and he dropped her back on the ground. He brought his fist up, presenting her the snitch.

Hermione smiled prettily up at him. Then she grabbed his face in both hands and pulled it towards hers. Their lips met and Harry felt euphoria like he had never known before.

They pulled away when the other Gryffindors slammed into them. In a moment of absolute happiness, he gave her the snitch, bent down and placed Hermione's thighs around his neck, sitting her up on his shoulders. Hermione squealed and grabbed his dark hair. Looking down to the crowd of red and gold, she smiled when she saw Collin's camera flashing.

Ron was shouting into Harry's ear about telling Oliver Wood and Angelina Johnson about "that epic Sloth Grip Roll" he had performed.

For a second Hermione saw Malfoy sitting on the grass untying his shinguards, his shoulders slumped towards the ground. She almost felt bad for him. But as Harry and the parade of Gryffindors made their way towards the castle she decided that nothing would ruin this moment for her.

* * *

Ginny Weasley volunteered to go to the kitchen for snacks and was tickling the pear on the portrait when Draco Malfoy walked into the corridor she was in.

When he noticed her standing there, he put his hands up in a non threatening manner and backed away slowly. He was just about to turn around and leave when she decided to voice her question.

"Malfoy."

He looked at her questioningly, one eyebrow pulled up.

"Out of curiosity. What were you planning on doing with Hermione?"

He hesitated but in the end her smiled bitterly.

"Probably a picnic." he snorted, then shrugged.

"Don't worry, I'll stop bothering her. I get it, she's with Potter." he said, then turned around and left.

Ginny stood there dumbfounded, her eyes widening. Maybe he just didn't know how to go about flirting with a girl. She decided she'd teach him.


End file.
